


We Can Rest Now

by Lyri46



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Natasha Romanov/Tony Stark - Freeform, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26918083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyri46/pseuds/Lyri46
Summary: Tony meets someone familiar after he snaps
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	We Can Rest Now

Tony blinks, letting his eyes adjust to the light. When he takes in his surroundings he frowns.

_The Tower? I sold this ages ago,_ he looks around his old room at Avengers Tower, wondering what kind of strange dream he’s ended up in. Did snapping that gauntlet send him back in time maybe? Does he have a chance to fix everything?

Sitting up in his bed he swings his legs over the side, his body moving with the smoothness and strength it did when he was in his twenties.

‘Huh,’ he says out loud, ‘that’s cool.’ He looks down and lifts his shirt, blinking in surprise at the unscarred expanse of his chest. ‘That’s…also cool and slightly unnerving. Wonder if anyone else is around or if it’s just me?’

Climbing to his feet he pads to the door of his bedroom and along the corridor, then takes the elevator down to the main area. The doors open with a hiss and he sees a figure sitting on one of the sofas, reading a book with a mug of something hot in their hand.

Tony fights his voice past the lump in his throat. ‘Agent Romanov. You miss me?’

Natasha looks up, eyes wide as she sees him. Her hair is still long like it was when he last saw her, done in a plait with blonde streaks still showing through; but she looks younger, and there are no signs of tightness and strain in her eyes. No pain.

‘Tony? What are you doing here?’ she asks, putting her mug down and jumping to her feet.

‘I thought that might be obvious,’ he says with a half-smile.

Her face crumbles and there’s tears gathering in her eyes; he sees her pull herself together, trying to be strong for him as she asks: ‘Did we win?’

‘Yeah,’ he nods, feeling tears gathering at the corners of his own eyes. ‘Yeah we did. It was a bit touch and go at one point, but we got everyone back that Thanos dusted, and then we dusted him and his army.’

‘You did?’ her eyes go wide. ‘How?’ she gestures for him to take a seat and he fills her in on everything that happened since they arrived back with the stones. Sitting here with her, discussing what had happened, it feels just like when they were the Avengers, back before Ultron and after New York. Back when things were good.

‘We were going to make a memorial for you,’ he tells her as his story comes to an end and they lapse into silence. ‘When we weren’t sure if you could be brought back and before we made the gauntlet and Bruce snapped, we were planning something for you. Some way to make sure you weren’t forgotten.’ He looks up at her. ‘Why did you do it, Nat?’

‘The same reason you snapped that gauntlet, Tony,’ she responds, voice quiet and eyes wet.

‘But we could have found another way-’

‘-there was no other way and you know it. “Whatever it takes” remember?’ She sighs. ‘But you were supposed to live.’

‘So were you.’

Natasha shakes her head. ‘You had a family, Tony: you had Pepper and you had Morgan. You deserved to see her grow up, to spend the rest of your life watching her grow up. After everything you did for the world, for the Avengers, you deserved to die an old man safe and warm in his bed surrounded by people who loved you. Not on the battlefield.’

‘Really? Because after all the weapons I created, after Ultron, I would have thought it was the ending I deserved.’

Natasha’s eyes flash. ‘Tony-’

He lifts a hand to stop her. ‘What’s done is done, Nat, we can’t change it and there’s no point in saying what _should_ have happened. Yes maybe I did deserve to see Morgan grow up, to continue to mentor Peter. _You_ deserved to live a life of your choosing, being an aunt to Clint’s kids. But we didn’t.’

Natasha looks away and Tony sees her allow a tear to fall. ‘You were supposed to live.’

‘It’s ok,’ his voice is gentle as he wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a hug, holding her close as her arms wrap around him. ‘They’re ok, Nat. We can rest now.’

She nods and tightens her hold on him, her head resting against his chest as he leans back so they’re half lying on the sofa. ‘I missed you, you know, when you left the team after Ultron, and then when I left after the Accords. I really missed you, Tony. You gave me somewhere to call home, you were such a big part of our family, and then suddenly you weren’t there. It was like the sun got taken out of our universe.’

‘I thought you were better off without me,’ he admits.

She huffs and gently slaps his shoulder. ‘And you’re supposed to be a genius.’

‘That hurts Romanov.’

She laughs softly and settles back down. ‘I think I missed you the most during those five years after the Snap though,’ she continues. ‘It was like you were always just around the corner and I could never catch up.’

Tony starts to run his fingers through her hair, slowly the plait begins to come undone as he untangles more of the strands. He missed her too. More than he’d ever admit to anyone else. ‘I’m here now, Natasha,’ he tells her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, ‘and it’s just going to be you and me for a long time. We’ve got all the time we need to make up for what we lost.’

She sniffs and nods, tightening her grip on him. ‘Selfishly I’m glad it’s you that’s here,’ she admits. ‘But you were supposed to live.’

‘They’re ok,’ he says, and turns her face to look up at him with his finger. He presses a soft kiss to her lips, feeling her relax against him. When they break apart he smiles down at her. ‘They’re ok,’ he promises her, ‘we can rest now.’

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hi everyone. I'm back after a bit of a longer break than I intended. I had eye surgery and it took longer for me to recover enough to look at screens than I anticipated. 
> 
> I hope you liked this, this just popped into my head after seeing a couple of memes and I couldn't shake it. It has tempted me to try and Natasha/Tony story in the future, we'll see what happens.
> 
> Hope you're all keeping safe.
> 
> Love always,
> 
> L x


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